


The Great Pretender

by robin_writes



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, M/M, Undercover, jared is an undercover fbi agent, jensen is a mob heir, jensen owns a nightclub, undercover as boyfriends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-25 05:47:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16655365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robin_writes/pseuds/robin_writes
Summary: You never think that maybe you’re not the good guy pretending to be the bad guy. Maybe you’re actually the bad guy pretending to be the good guy.~Jared drew circles into the condensation on his glass, cold droplets collecting on his pointer finger. He allowed the repetitive motions to let the tension bleed from his muscles. By his last mouthful, he was smiling, the twinkle that was solely Jared Padalecki’s was back in his eyes.





	The Great Pretender

After every job, Jared Padalecki would find himself at the bar across the road from his apartment. Some jobs required a pint of whatever was on draught to get over. Some required several shots of tequila. But this one, Jared would always remember the job that made him drink an entire bottle of overproof rum.

It all started with Jared sitting down on a bar stool, ordering a pint of Heineken and exhaling his last assignment.

It was just after nine at night and Jared was exhausted, mentally and physically. He lifted the cold glass to his lips as he tried to purge his latest identity from his mind. Working undercover at the FBI was incredibly taxing, but because of Jared’s abnormally high intellect and his eidetic memory, he was more than capable of keeping track of all the identities he had been assigned. It’s why they picked him so often.

Most agents were discharged from undercover work after three or four identities, it’s too difficult to keep track of any more. But Jared was on identity number nine in five years. He suited undercover work; he had no strong ties to anyone or anywhere, and he had enough respect for the lawman to occasionally break the law for the greater good. He wasn’t naive, he didn’t think he was good. Jared knew he had a darkness in him, it’s part of why he was so good at his job, and he used that darkness to his advantage.

When he was a child, Jared was scared of the dark tendencies. He confided in his father who told him “That’s exactly what makes you good. You care about the line, and about crossing it.”.

Jared drew circles into the condensation on his glass, cold droplets collecting on his pointer finger. He allowed the repetitive motions to let the tension bleed from his muscles. By his last mouthful, he was smiling, the twinkle that was solely Jared Padalecki’s was back in his eyes.

The bar was loud, there were several TV screens showing a football game with dozens of people crowded around it, shouting joyously. Jared smiled. He felt at home here with the dark wood and comfortable seats.

When he was Jared Padalecki, he didn’t drink much. He didn’t care for the taste and would only drink to decompress after a job. But when he was someone else, he often had to go with the situation despite how he feels.

“Can I get you something else?” The bartender asked as he grabbed the now empty glass.  
“No. He’s gotta go back to work.” A woman’s voice answered before Jared could. He spun around to see Genevieve Cortese, his handler at the bureau.  
“Nope. Nu-uh.” Jared shook his head at her. “My contract says I get a day off for every week on the job once it’s over. That’s eleven days vacation starting tomorrow. Eleven days Gen. That means you can’t bother me until then.”  
“Sorry Jay, but this one’s time sensitive and it has to be you. Ferris wanted the best.” She seemed sincere but also determined to get Jared back to the office.   
“And that’s me?”   
“Yup. Now get your butt of that stool and come with me.” She wasn’t going to budge on this, so Jared pushed up off of the bar and followed her out to her SUV.

The drive was quick, but during the short amount of time, Jared cycled through possible time sensitive operations that could be disturbing his much needed vacation time. It wasn’t like he was going to do anything on his time off, just chill out, his job was all about being on twenty four hours a day, every day until the job was over. So when it was over, Jared liked to relax and not have to worry about keeping up the pretence. 

There were a couple of mob families across the country who were being investigated and a motorcycle gang in Texas whose rival gangs keep disappearing.

Gen led Jared up to the offices and down the hall to the S.C.I.F. (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). She punched in a code and then swiped her own badge as well as Jared’s.

Jared stepped in, looking around to see his boss; Jim Beaver and Beaver’s boss and head of the unit; Samantha Ferris.

“Take a seat Mr Padalecki.” Samantha gestured to the black leather chairs across the table from her and Jim. Jared dropped silently into one of them.

The room was small, only space enough for a long table and twelve chairs. Jared had only been briefed in the S.C.I.F. once before, two years ago Jared was tasked with infiltrating the Russian mob and collecting evidence on the operation. It was so secret, only nine agents knew what he was doing and it was only recorded on hard copies kept in the S.C.I.F. . This, though, seemed much more dangerous. If only Samantha, Jim and Gen knew what he was working on, how deep exactly was he going?

“I’m sorry for calling you back so late, but we received some intel from an asset we have in Boston that was more than a little time sensitive. The Ackles crime family is the new reigning criminal organisation.” Ferris explained.  
“Ma’am… isn’t that old news? The Ackles family have been behind every major takedown of their competition in and around Boston for the last fifteen years. I thought we were allowing them leniency because so far they haven’t killed anyone.” Jared said, reciting the information he remembered.  
“That was yesterday. Today they are responsible for the massacre at O’Learys bar in South Boston.” She looked grim.  
“No… There were kids there.”  
“Thirty-two adult casualties, seven children deceased.”  
“So what’s the job? Who am I now?” Jared was suddenly determined.  
“Jared Tristan Wesson, age twenty-four, college dropout because of financial difficulties.” It was all hitting far too close to home for Jared. The only thing they changed was his last name.  
“What’s my in?”  
“Ackles’ son, Jensen, is looking for a new boy toy and you’re just his type.”  
“Okay.” Jared nodded. A lot of his colleagues refused to play the significant other, thinking that any information they got was worthless, but Jared knew the position put him in exactly the right place to get the good information.  
“You can stay in here until you’ve brushed up on all the relevant details, your flight to Boston is tomorrow at four.” As Samantha and Jim stood, Jared noticed the stacks of boxes containing files about the Ackles family. “You’ll stay in contact with Genevieve through daily dead-drops and weekly phone calls, other than that, Mr Padalecki, you’re on your own.” She nodded and walked to the door where she pressed her code to exit. Jim moved around the table to pull Jared into a hug.  
“Don’t get killed kid.” He said as he pulled away and followed Samantha out.

Gen dropped a file onto the table in front of Jared when they were alone. “Your identity.” She said in explanation. “It’s not too different from you, I know you don’t like that but this one will require you to be around Jensen in your half-asleep state, hence the ‘Jared’. When you’re like that you barely respond to your own name, let alone a fake one.” Jared nodded, it seemed logical and would make his life a little easier. “Read up, I’m gonna order pizzas.” Gen patted his shoulder and then left the S.C.I.F. .

Jared got to work on his file and then the several cardboard boxes. He knew most of the information before, but there were a few shocks; like the fact that even though Jensen Ackles is the heir, he has an older brother who’s name only appears once in all of the boxes and it was on a very long hospital bill.

When Gen came back with the pizza and large bottle of soda, Jared set down the files he was committing to memory. “Is there anything else in our files about Joshua Ackles?” He asked.  
“What’s in there is everything. That’s all our files on the Ackles’.” She said as she took a bite of her pizza.  
“Isn’t that a bit weird though? He should be the heir and yet the only mention of him is on this bill from nine years ago.”  
“Maybe he changed his name and got out of the life. Or maybe he died. It’s one of the many mysteries you’ll be able to figure out when we get to Boston.”  
“Yeah, I guess.” Jared was unconvinced. 

The pair ate their food while Jared continued to read and Genevieve was trying to secure a studio apartment in Boston for Jared.

Jared was full of nervous energy by the time he got home that night. Instead of sleeping, he decided to pack and come up with a plan on how to meet Jensen.

From his research, Jared knew that Jensen owned and often frequented a club in South Boston called ‘The Tunnel’. Jared thought that the club was being used as a front for money laundering by the family, but there was no proof either way. He figured that he would hang around the club and try to be visible. Plan A for Ackles was to get Jensen interested. From his previous ‘relationships’ he seemed to enjoy the chase almost as much as the reward, so Jared supposed he should flaunt himself and get Jensen to come to him.

He got a few hours of sleep before he had to call a cab to take him and Gen to the airport. They set up the same contacting system as they had with the Russians, the weekly phone call would come from Jared before noon on Tuesdays with code words set up for both of them to use in case someone was listening in. And the dead-drops would be Jared leaving chalk markings in the park for Gen to find so she knew he was still alive.

Jared used his new I.D. to check in, starting to create a paper trail and an explanation for where he was before he moved to Boston. Gen had packed three suitcases, but Jared only had one, planning to go shopping for more appropriate clothes once in Boston, so he wheeled one of Gen’s bags to the check in desk.

The flight wasn’t bad. Jared didn’t feel too harassed, as could happen on flights, by the time they landed in Boston. Gen gave Jared the address to his new apartment and then the pair split off in separate cabs.

He realised that his new apartment was only twenty minutes from where he knew the Ackles’ mansion was, and only ten from ‘The Tunnel’.

The key was under a plant, where the landlord told Gen it would be, and Jared let himself in.

The place was bare. The only furniture was the bed, a wardrobe and a ratty old sofa that faced the window because there was no TV. He dropped his bag on the bed and started to unpack. First stage of Jared’s infiltration was to scope out the area.

He showered quickly, wincing at the cold water that automatically hit his shoulders, and then changed into a semi-smart shirt and a pair of jeans. Jared grabbed his keys and wallet and headed out.

There weren’t too many people around as Jared walked down the streets. He passed by a few clothing stores, making a mental note of their location for tomorrow. But he quickly came to the overground entrance of ‘The Tunnel’.

A burly man with long dark hair stood guarding the door. The club appeared to be just opening for the night, not yet allowing patrons in, but the man took one look at Jared loitering and gestured for him to step forward.

Jared did the whole ‘Who? Me?’ spiel fairly convincingly and stepped forward. “The boss wants to speak to you.” He said. Jared had an ‘oh fuck’ moment and realised that this was either really really bad or really really good. Either he was busted, or he was in. It was a make or break moment.

Jared nodded and followed the long haired man through the doors, and down the steps.

The club’s lights were on, bright blue being cast through the room. It was nice inside, the interior being white and mirrored, covered in the blue of the lights. Far more luxurious than Jared had expected.

He was led to a large, sectioned off booth in the corner of the main room. At the booth, Jared identified Jensen Ackles sitting next to Misha Collins (an insane planner and strategist), Katie Cassidy (Jared wasn’t quite sure what role she played, it was kept very close to the vest) and Alona Tal (Jensen’s assistant). “Where’d Chad go?” The long haired man asked the booth.  
“Well well well… if it isn’t Jared Padalecki.” A familiar voice sounded from behind Jared. He spun around to be met with an old friend.  
“Chad Michael Murray. What’s it been, five years?” Jared decided to roll with it, thinking on his feet was about the only thing he could do with his cover already blown.  
“Yeah.” Chad smiled at him. “Hey Jen, this is the guy I roomed with my first year of college. He’s a genius. Total whiz kid.” Chad praised.  
“I don’t know about that…” Jared said shyly.  
“Don’t sell yourself short, if you had the right connections, you could be making billions.” Chad said.  
“The right connections?” Jared twisted his face into a confused expression. Chad looked over his shoulder to Jensen, raising an eyebrow.

Jared could see Jensen pause in the reflection of a mirrored surface. Jensen nodded subtly. At his nod, Chad turned back to Jared with a huge smile on his face. “Boss man is gonna give you a chance, don’t disappoint JT.”  
“What if I told you I already have a job?”  
“It’s not as good as this one.” Chad smirked.  
“Well alright then. What do I have to do?”  
“Come with me.” Jensen stood up without any warning and headed through a door behind the bar. Jared looked at Chad who nodded, and then followed Jensen behind the bar.

The other side of the door was a set of stairs leading up and a hallway. Jensen walked to the end of the hallway, not looking back to check if Jared was following him. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The mysterious room was an office, but it was far more intimidating than Jared had expected it to be. He wouldn’t have been shocked if there was a gun lying around in plain view. A single black desk sat in the middle of the room, covered with stacks of papers and a computer. There was a large black leather chair, but the room had no other furniture.

Jared shifted nervously, his persona terrified, but inside he was calm and focused. He trained for moments such as this, alone with the target.

Jensen stopped and gestured to the desk. “As you can see, there’s a lot of paperwork that has yet to be completed. Our accountant up and vanished last month and I haven’t yet been able to find a suitable replacement.”  
“Wait… you want me to be your accountant?” Jared asked, shocked. That wasn’t what he had expected. Sure he was good at math, better than good, but he would’ve thought that Chad would’ve said something about his other hobbies before he mentioned Jared’s affinity for numbers.  
“In a sense…” Jensen’s eyes lit up as he pondered Jared.  
“My talents far exceed mathematics Mr…?”  
“Jensen.”  
“Mr Jensen.”  
“Just Jensen.”  
“Right, Jensen. I am more than capable of being your accountant, but I fear you wouldn’t be making full use of me.”  
“I might as well get my money’s worth.” Jensen smirked wolfishly.  
“I am a prolific hacker, but Chad likes to keep that close to his chest. He used my talents more than once in our time at college.”  
“Hacker, huh… You don’t seem like the type. Maybe you’d be better put to work as a hacker and not as an accountant.”  
“I think so.”  
“So what do you do, Jared?” They were still hovering awkwardly in the office, but Jensen appeared to be collected. He was every bit the mob heir that Jared had read about, his eyes hard and cold, and his body tense enough to be ready for an attack but relaxed enough not to alert anyone who wasn’t trained to see that he was tense.  
“Right now? Nothing.”  
“I thought you told Chad-“  
“I was playing hard to get. Truth is I moved here yesterday to get away from some people that got me into a little trouble. That isn’t going to be a problem if you hire me though, it’s all over, I promise.” Jensen laughed at Jared’s confession.  
“If you’re as good as Chad says, then I don’t doubt it. I have to warn you before we go any further, trouble tends to find me, Jared, in all shapes and sizes. Including blue.” Jared nodded slowly, understanding that this was Jensen’s way of telling him if he wasn’t okay with breaking the law, he should leave now, no judgement. “But if you pass the job interview today, you have to be prepared for that.”  
“Yes sir.” Jared nodded.  
“Great, now let’s see what you’ve got.” Jensen gestured for Jared to take a seat behind the desk. And then he switched the monitor on. It was running a fairly new software, but Jared knew that the coders had been criticised for leaving unfixed bugs and other problems Jared had helped fix on the bureau computers when he’s had some free time. “You use this software on all your computers?” He asked.  
“I think so.” Jensen nodded.  
“I can either do whatever it is you want me to do right now, or I can fix your bugs, maybe show Chad how to do it so he can copy it onto the other machines. Your choice.”  
“And what would fixing it entail? As far as I know, we haven’t had any trouble.”  
“I’ll clean the system up, speed it up and then I’ll change the coding so that there aren’t any issues in the future.”  
“Do it.” Jensen moved to hover over Jared’s shoulder as Jared began to work.

It didn’t take long, a few minutes was all Jared needed to work his magic, but Jensen seemed no less impressed. It was nice. Jared had all but forgotten how much he liked the appreciative noises that people made as he worked. His job more often included socialising than actually showing off his skills. Jared Padalecki, friend to criminals. 

The few times he had worked his computer hacking mojo, Jared had gotten in trouble with Jim Beaver. He was reprimanded because he was loaning out his unbeatable hacking skills to the dark side, though he had been around the block enough to realise it wasn’t as black and white as Beaver and the other pencil pushers made it out to be.

“This is great and all, and I’d love to pay you to do this to the rest of our computers, but I don’t think I need a full time hacker. It might sound weird, but my company does a lot of work on hard copies.”  
“No, I totally get it. I didn’t come here for a job, and you don’t have a job to give me. If it wasn’t for Chad, I wouldn’t have accepted your offer for an interview at all. I’ve never worked in a bar, even behind the scenes.”  
“I feel really bad about this, like I’ve been leading you on.”  
“No worries man. It’s all good.” Jared stood from the leather chair and swayed awkwardly. The ball was in Jensen’s court now, what was his decision going to be?  
“I think Chad would seriously hurt me if I didn’t at least give you a shot though…” Jensen was thinking about it. “Fine, okay. I’ll give you a chance to help me out with this mess.” He nodded to the stack of papers the accountant left. “But I reserve the right to fire you if I think you’re not doing a good job, and it’s only until I can find a more qualified maths brain.”  
“Thank you so much. You won’t regret it.”  
“Come back tomorrow at eight. I’ll still be here then.”  
“Thank you again.” Jared said and Jensen nodded. They both left the room.

Jared said goodbye to Chad on his way out and walked back to his new apartment.


End file.
